Which is the better sub JL W7 or Alpine type X

Since I only have room for one 10 inch sub under the back seat which would you choose of the ones listed. There is also a pretty nice MTX subwoofer out there but I forget the name.

Any ideas or suggestions?

That JL sub looks impressive but you may not have room for it. The driver is 8 inches deep and I think the height available under the seat is about 9 inches. With the thickness of wood for the box - and some clearance for the cone movement, I don't think it will fit. You can't block the vent in the magnet.

maybe you can mount it sideways

they both won't fit under your seat I tried. Maybe two 8W7's will but not the 10W7 and the type X has a mounting depth of almost 9inches. and the MTX 9500 is just as deep as the type x. But, you might be able to fit a MTX 7500.

you should get 2 or 3 8's

i have 2 jl 8w3v2 and they kick ass

These are all good points but if you want to know which sub is better it is definitely the JL W7. Alpine type X are nice subs but JL's W7 has been called the best sub out there by many audiophillies especially for combining sound quality with big bass!

Anthony:D

I have one of these somewhere in the garage. Was planning on installing it up front. Decided not to for now. Might go Aura bass Shakers under the seat.

http://www.edesignaudio.com/product.php?cid=15&tab=Gallery&pid=32&cur=USD

Check out the video in the above web page - the excursion video.

Pretty wild. 10+ mm of excursion.

Ok so the 10 inch subs that I want to install wont fit. Any reccomendations on a good 8 inch subwoofer to use. I will most likely be making my own box out of fiberglass to ensure proper fitment to the under seat area.

A 10 inch sub will fit. Just not those two monsters.

The box you make could probably be as tall as 7.5 inches if you leave room for the woofer excursion. You could fit a 10 or even a 12 if the woofer faces up. A downward facing woofer has to be 10 or smaller. If the box is 7.5 inches, that should tell you the maximum depth of the woofer - it depends on the thickness of the top and bottom panel. There are probably dozens of 10s and 12s that could work. You just can't use the mega-drivers that have massively deep cast frames like the JL W7.

The box you make could probably be as tall as 7.5 inches if you leave room for the woofer excursion. You could fit a 10 or even a 12 if the woofer faces up. A downward facing woofer has to be 10 or smaller. If the box is 7.5 inches, that should tell you the maximum depth of the woofer - it depends on the thickness of the top and bottom panel. There are probably dozens of 10s and 12s that could work. You just can't use the mega-drivers that have massively deep cast frames like the JL W7.

You really seem to know your stuff and Ive seen some of your other posts on this board. What would reccomend for a decent 10 inch sub for under the seats. I want to add some bass I dont need it to make peoples ears bleed or anything just something to give the music a good hit.

I will probably be making my own fibgerglass box to hold it in and will most likely put speaker vertical. Any suggestions or advice you can give would be appreciated.

OK - you asked for it. :)

First - I think subs like the JLW7 are unbelievable quality but I cannot imagine paying $500 for a single 10 inch driver. Spending that kind of money gets huge power handling, loudness, and status.

I do not care much about the status part. I don't need a brand name on the speaker dustcap. I gravitate towards drivers that are built by hi-fi companies but designed for automotive use. These companies generally don't market heavily to the car audio competition crowd so they tend to be bling-free.

By the way, some of JL's non-mega (like W3 or W2) drivers look (specs) very good although their voice coils are a bit on the small side (1 1/2 inches). JL doesn't list the VC size for most of their drivers. I really don't have any experience with other car audio subwoofers (Fosgate, Sony, Polk, MTX, Infinity, JBL, etc.). I don't need red cones, or five sided cones, or square frames.

I used this driver for my sub: http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=295-462

Dayton is Parts Express own brand. This driver is very well built. Cast Frame, aluminum cone, vented pole piece, 2 1/2 inch voice coil, vented spider/voice coil, and is designed for small sealed boxes.

I also considered this driver: http://www.madisound.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?cart_id=5924897.14568&pid=822 or this version http://www.madisound.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?cart_id=5924897.14568&pid=2037

Peerless is widely used by many of the best brands of home audio speakers. I used a similar 12 inch version of this driver for my home theater sub.

I chose the Dayton because it was $80 cheaper when I bought it.

My goal with my sub was tight, deep, clear bass but I didn't need incredible loudness. With two bridged channels of an Alpine 4x55W amp it has plenty of power. My Radio Shack sound level meter shows I can reach 110db cleanly. I listen to electric blues, classic jazz, rock, and a tiny bit of hip hop.

Late add: I'll give you an example of a couple of tracks that show subwoofer clarity - Usher's Confessions is cleanly recorded and the bass line shows great pitch definition if the sub is clean and not boomy. Ric Ocasek's first record is full of very clean synth bass - another good test. I think the typical hip-hop sub will simply play that stuff with a steady boom.

My woofer fires down because I wanted the driver protected when I flip the seat up to carry stuff.

OK - you asked for it. :)

First - I think subs like the JLW7 are unbelievable quality but I cannot imagine paying $500 for a single 10 inch driver. Spending that kind of money gets huge power handling, loudness, and status.

I do not care much about the status part. I don't need a brand name on the speaker dustcap. I gravitate towards drivers that are built by hi-fi companies but designed for automotive use. These companies generally don't market heavily to the car audio competition crowd so they tend to be bling-free.

By the way, some of JL's non-mega (like W3 or W2) drivers look (specs) very good although their voice coils are a bit on the small side (1 1/2 inches). JL doesn't list the VC size for most of their drivers. I really don't have any experience with other car audio subwoofers (Fosgate, Sony, Polk, MTX, Infinity, JBL, etc.). I don't need red cones, or five sided cones, or square frames.

I used this driver for my sub: http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=295-462

Dayton is Parts Express own brand. This driver is very well built. Cast Frame, aluminum cone, vented pole piece, 2 1/2 inch voice coil, vented spider/voice coil, and is designed for small sealed boxes.

I also considered this driver: http://www.madisound.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?cart_id=5924897.14568&pid=822 or this version http://www.madisound.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?cart_id=5924897.14568&pid=2037

Peerless is widely used by many of the best brands of home audio speakers. I used a similar 12 inch version of this driver for my home theater sub.

I chose the Dayton because it was $80 cheaper when I bought it.

My goal with my sub was tight, deep, clear bass but I didn't need incredible loudness. With two bridged channels of an Alpine 4x55W amp it has plenty of power. My Radio Shack sound level meter shows I can reach 110db cleanly. I listen to electric blues, classic jazz, rock, and a tiny bit of hip hop.

Late add: I'll give you an example of a couple of tracks that show subwoofer clarity - Usher's Confessions is cleanly recorded and the bass line shows great pitch definition if the sub is clean and not boomy. Ric Ocasek's first record is full of very clean synth bass - another good test. I think the typical hip-hop sub will simply play that stuff with a steady boom.

My woofer fires down because I wanted the driver protected when I flip the seat up to carry stuff.

Thats a lot of information right there. It sounds very good but being someone who has never had a car stereo in his life im sure most of it is lost on me. I am not sure how loud or how deep the bass is with 110 decibels. I usually will listen to house or techno music and I am looking for a system that will sound the best for that.

From talking to friends who are into car stereo they say with the way the cab on the RL is set up pretty much anything will pound in there.

Do you think that two of the subs that you mentioned with a nice amp would give me the nice deep clear bass I am looking for. Any suggestions on amps that I would use for this setup and how many watts?

Sorry for so many questions but Im basically just learning about car stereos and want to make sure if I spend the money Im getting quality stuff.

pretty much anything will pound in there.

I have no idea what this means. I'm not criticizing you. But I find that a lot of what I hear from typical "car audio" guys (not guys like mugen1, djdj, and many others on ROC!) is nearly complete crap. Maybe your friends know what they're talking about but I judge a lot of what I hear from "car audio" guys by the language they use. If all they talk about is pounding then I think they are probably bass-heads.

I could be all wrong about the people you talk to!

I am not sure how loud or how deep the bass is with 110 decibels

110 Db is very loud to me, but it would get you nowhere in the competition crowd. But 110db is loud enough to vibrate the rearview mirror, strongly shake the rear seat, and requires loud shouting to be heard. Long term exposure to 110db will damage your ears. One hour of 110db will leave your ears ringing when you get to your house. My teenage sons think my stereo is incredible. My wife thinks I'm crazy. They would think mugen1 is insane.

BTW - the Radio Shack sound level meter is a handy tool and you can buy it for < $50. It's a good way to get some idea of what a decibel is. Compared to your investment to upgrade your car stereo its a very small expense.

If you added a woofer, the system will play 3 db louder, assuming you had twice the amplifier power. 3 db is a MINOR increase in loudness.

So - I think a single, quality 10 inch sub in a quality box will give you more than what you need.

I have no idea what this means. I'm not criticizing you. But I find that a lot of what I hear from typical "car audio" guys (not guys like mugen1, djdj, and many others on ROC!) is nearly complete crap. Maybe your friends know what they're talking about but I judge a lot of what I hear from "car audio" guys by the language they use. If all they talk about is pounding then I think they are probably bass-heads.

I could be all wrong about the people you talk to!



110 Db is very loud to me, but it would get you nowhere in the competition crowd. But 110db is loud enough to vibrate the rearview mirror, strongly shake the rear seat, and requires loud shouting to be heard. Long term exposure to 110db will damage your ears. One hour of 110db will leave your ears ringing when you get to your house. My teenage sons think my stereo is incredible. My wife thinks I'm crazy. They would think mugen1 is insane.

BTW - the Radio Shack sound level meter is a handy tool and you can buy it for < $50. It's a good way to get some idea of what a decibel is. Compared to your investment to upgrade your car stereo its a very small expense.

If you added a woofer, the system will play 3 db louder, assuming you had twice the amplifier power. 3 db is a MINOR increase in loudness.

So - I think a single, quality 10 inch sub in a quality box will give you more than what you need.

Ok so basically your recomendation for a system here. Which one of those 3 subs above would you choose? And what kind of AMP and wattage would you use to power it.

I could probably go back and forth with you all day asking questions but I figure I might as well get the straight reccomendation for a system from you and try it out.

I'm very pleased with the Dayton sub. I have no regrets whatsoever. Everyone who has heard my Ridgeline thinks it sounds very good. My Alpine amplifier is rated for 1x130W running in bridged mode into 4 ohms. So I think a similar amp, between 1x100W to 1x150W is sufficient. You can certainly go higher with that sub. If I bought an amp just for the sub, I probably would have bought one more powerful. But I wanted a 4 channel amp and moving up in power with 4 channel amps moves up 4 times per channel.

I think there are lots of good amps available. I would stay away from cheapo-brands like Pyramid, Legacy, etc. Alpine, Sony, Kenwood, JL Audio, Infinity, etc. Post another question on ROC and ask some of the other guys for their preferences. It isn't religion for me.

You can see my stuff at:

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6783
http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6057

I don't think my system goes up to 110 db. At least I don't play it that loud. Sub bass is felt more than heard and 110 db in the high frequencies would definitely cause some permanent hearing loss. With surround sound sub bass is so important. Actually, with any music. The goal is to get the frequencly response as flat as possible to recreate the musical spectrum the way it was recorded (meant to be). However, with the noises that are inherent (road and engine noise) when the car is in motion, some frequencies need to be compensated. I have to stop there as this is going to take way too long for a guy like me to type. Hoffam knows what I mean. There is so much involved in car audio. There's more to it than just putting the pieces together.

I do not ever listen at 110 db. I just measured it to see how loud it can go for curiosity's sake. mugen1 is right - very low bass is felt, not really heard. Strong bass in a car is much easier to achieve than in a house. Bass response naturally rises in car because of the small compartment. In my original post on my upgrade I said my main goal was to improve the clarity and range of the sound.

mugen1 is right that achieving really good sound isn't just buying the parts. But it isn't hard to achieve a big improvement over factory. On my system I used a calibration CD and the sound level meter to help me choose the low crossover and flatten the response a bit. The radio shack meter does not have flat response at the high end so it can't be used to tune above 5000hz.

But it isn't hard to achieve a big improvement over factory.

Absolutely correct. Stock systems have improved a lot over the years, but still aftermarket is better. I can only think of one instance where the stock system was pretty decent. The DVD-Audio system in the Acura TL.

Gone are the days when you could buy a car without a stereo.

People say integration is a problem. Absolutely, but the manufacturers are making it more and more difficult to integrate or even make it possible to install aftermarket units in their vehicles.

Again, for most people, sound in a vehicle is not a big thing and I understand that. It's pretty clear, however, that quite a few people are not satisfied with certain aspects of the sound system in the Ridgeline.

Anyway, as usual, I'm getting way off topic.

I have 2 type R version 2 under the seat facing up and the system can easily hit 125 db. I used a personal audio assistant to check for flat frequency response and db. The Alpine subs can be had on ebay for around $200.00 for 2. The subs are very close in depth about a 1/4 " clearence on the magnet. I would love to have 2 JL w7 but too deep for this type of install. I have a plan to be able to install 2 8" jl w7's at a later time when I make a new enclosure. You can see a picture of mine if you look up my posts.
The alpine also sounds very clean and deep. I have the Audio Control Epicenter and that helps with smaller boxes.

I'd say go Image Dynamics IDMax if you're looking for that level of sub